Honor Bound
by Rahndom
Summary: They had sacrificed their precious time to free him, they didn't even know it was him and they had used their last reserves of chakra to save him… and they only asked he looked after this child in return. Naruto stared at him in silence, his fingers reaching to tug at his dirty black hair. It would be his penance, his absolution.
1. Chapter 1

It was a strange feeling, the calm of knowing you were so close to death.

From an early age Kushina had known her life would not be a happy one, Mito-sama had warned her once, when she was barely old enough to understand the old woman's words, that while her life as Jinchuriki might be full of hardship, it would not be without fulfillment.

Kushina hadn't understood at the time, and wouldn't understand for many years to go, but as she struggled to breath against the blood slowly filling her lungs, her hands clutching the claw piercing her stomach and her eyes lost and gained focus by turns, she could only feel grateful…

… because before her was her biggest joy, her grandest achievement.

Her beautiful baby boy sleeping despite the chaos that surrounded them, his rosy cheeks so much like his father's.

She shook her head, longing to rest her head on the shoulder of the man she loved, feel his breath against her neck one last time.

She mentally recounted all the advice she had given her beautiful son, wondering whether she was forgetting something that her baby might need to know, when the glint of copper and malice caught her attention from the corner of her eye.

"Minato…" she whispered, her eyes narrowing in an effort to focus.

"I see it," Minato whispered back, his own breathing labored, an effort in itself.

Hidden amongst the shadows created by the forest was that man, the same man that had attacked them, the same man responsible for the future suffering of their baby.

"Is he here to hurt Naruto?" Minato hissed, his muscles tensing as he did his best to reach his weapons. "Or is he here just to gloat?"

"Whichever it is…" Kushina coughed, her eyes narrowed. "We can't let him get away with it."

Minato nodded against her hair, how long did the two of the have left? No much judging from the way her vision was blurring.

Something glinted again, that same preternatural shimmer that seemed to have caught her attention before.

Kushina's eyes narrowed.

"Minato… wait…" she said, tilting her head to the side as the shimmer became more concrete to her in lines that spread across their assailant's mask, his arms, the crown of his head, marks she had seen so long ago, back when she still lived in Uzushiogakure, the way old man Matsushiro would brush the symbols one after another with his brush, patiently explaining to all his students the importance of their order and how each and every symbol worked in combination with another.

How some symbols should never be used with the others, for the arts were too monstrous, too forbidden.

How she herself had sworn in her own blood to never use such seals.

Her eyes widened in horror.

"A soul vessel," she whispered to her husband. "That man is a soul vessel…"

Minato gasped behind her, in shared horror, Kushina hoped, and not the doorsteps of death, his hand slowly crawling to cradle her waist.

"That means…" he hissed, every word a painful exhalation. "That whoever this man is… he's just being used…?"

Kushina nodded.

"Even if we kill him… the mastermind behind him could come and…" she slowly turned her head, the movement an agonizing pulling of her skin.

Her eyes locked with Minato's.

"Can…" she hesitated. "Can you hold on for… a little longer?"

Minato's smile was as bloodied as it was sweet.

"For you?" he chuckled. "Always."

Kushina smiled back, idly wondering what she had done to deserve such a wonderful man's love.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-chan…" she hissed, slowly moving her fingers without releasing Kyuubi, using her own blood to trace seal after seal onto the beast's terrifying claws. "Mama won't be able to leave her chakra with you…"

"But we will keep watching over you in heaven, Naruto," Minato hurried to assure the sleeping baby.

Kushina nodded, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Hey, you bastard!" she snapped, blood rolling down her chin with the effort of rising her voice. "We are setting you free so you must look after our baby boy!"

Their mysterious assailant took a step back, visibly surprised, but it was too late for him, because with the last burst of her chakra, Kushina managed to pierce his chest with her last sealing chain, the symbols she had carefully carved slid link after link, melding with the seals in the stranger's skin, dissolving them.

The man gasped audibly, his knees weakening as he was released from what she could tell was the control of another the man was most likely even unaware of until that moment. He was visibly distressed, Kushina could tell, as he fell onto the floor, his breathing ragged, but there was little more she or her husband could do.

At the very least the immediate threat to their baby had been neutralized.

She finally allowed herself to rest her head on Minato's shoulder, her tears finally falling freely down her face.

Minato's hand on her waist tightened, his own tears soaking her hair.

The two of them locked their gazes on their sleeping son.

Minato's lips parted.

"Hakke Fuuin…" he hissed…

…and they knew nothing more.

Obito struggled to keep himself upright as the seals he had not even aware of slowly dripped down his skin as if made of water, the ink leaving horrible blood-like streaks upon him.

Madara had done this to him without him even noticing…

Madara had twisted him…

Madara had forced his will upon him and he…

He…

What had he done?

What had he been about to do…

With trembling hands he ripped his mask off his face, feeling suffocated and captive, needing to feel, to see…

Before him, Minato-sensei and Kushina-san were laying on the floor.

Dead.

Dead like Rin, dead like everyone and everything he had ever loved.

And this time it had been his own fault, his own hand, his own doing.

With a small cry he leaned forwards on his hands and knees and emptied the content of his stomach, his back twisting in pain with each heave yet unable to stop himself, his eye burned, his throat was in agony…

… he deserved it.

He should have died instead of them.

Why didn't he die instead of them?

Why couldn't he die instead of them!

The stillness of the night was pierced by his scream of pure rage, the tears rolling down his cheeks stinging the cuts in his face, the bile clogging his mouth.

A smaller, softer, infinitely sweeter cry seemed to echo his own.

Obito's eyes widened in shock, his exhausted body gaining new strength as he forced himself to crawl towards the source, towards the place where Minato-sensei and Kushina-san were cradling, even in death.

A baby boy's tear filled blue eyes stared back at him, rosy cheeks wet with tears, small hands reaching towards him for comfort.

He took the small fist in his trembling hand with all the care he was able to give, his breathing cutting short when those tiny, so very, very tiny fingers curled around his own.

Kushina-san's last words to him echoed in his head.

They had sacrificed their precious time to free him, they didn't even know it was him and they had used their last reserves of chakra to save him…

… and they only asked he looked after this child in return.

He swallowed.

"H-hello, Naruto-chan," he whispered into the cold night air, ignoring the way his voice broke, his trembling mouth barely able to form words. "I'm Obito… I'm s-sorry I c-can't be your mommy or your d-daddy but…"

A sob interrupted his words, the shields around them fell and all the flurry of activity of the Leaf Village seemed to roar into life around them.

Not that it mattered to Obito, not really.

Not when Naruto's cries had quieted, his wide blue eyes were solely focused on him.

He lowered his head, resting his forehead on the baby's stomach, just were Minato-sensei's seal now rested, where the mark of the Kyuubi stood stark against the soft skin.

"… b-but I will protect you," he continued, letting his sorrow flow. "I swear, Naruto-chan…"

Naruto stared at him in silence, his fingers reaching to tug at his dirty black hair.

Besides them Sandaime-sama had finally stopped, his sandals making no sound as he surveyed the scene.

Obito leaned in, breathing into Naruto's skin trying to remember his scent instead of the stench of smoke and blood that surrounded them.

He would tell his story to the old Hokage, he decided.

He would tell everything he knew to the man and beg for his mercy, beg to be allowed to fulfill his teacher's last will.

It would be his penance, his absolution.

Naruto cooed at him, his little fingers tight around his hand.

Obito's eyes closed.


	2. Chapter 2

Obito couldn't believe that he did it, he actually _did_ it.

He had spent the last week being interrogated by every single ANBU under the sun, had sat down with Sandaime-sama day in and day out, giving out as much information as he could remember – not even taking a break until his eyes watered and his head was about to split open with pain – enduring the way the old man traced seal after seal on his naked skin, knowing it was the only way he would be allowed to fulfill his promise.

Enduring the cold eyes of Fugaku-kun – now the head of the Uchiha Clan, apparently – as he fought the Third over the appointment of Obito's housing, because Sandaime Hokage wanted to give Obito a small apartment in the slums, somewhere near the ANBU headquarters so he could be watched, while Fugaku-kun wanted him back in the Uchiha district, where he could be around _family,_ and wasn't that funny? He never had a family to begin with, being a bastard and an orphan and a pariah when he was a child, but, then again, Fugaku-kun had not being head at the time, and he was never cruel to Obito when they were children…

… so when Sandaime-sama looked at him in askance, an eyebrow raised with curiosity, Obito simply nodded and shrugged his shoulders.

The house Fugaku-kun was offering has more room anyways, and a small backyard.

Still, it was all worth it, he thought, as he finished scrubbing the floors clean and changing the curtains to lighter, softer ones with small flowers in the bottom – a small 'I'n sorry' gift from Inochi-san, who had basically raped his mind the week prior, his words, not Obito's – just in time to open the door for Sandaime Hokage who smiled sadly at him and deposited a small, precious bundle in his arms.

"Hello, Naruto-chan," he cooed at the baby currently looking at him in awe, blue eyes – sensei's eyes – wide with curiosity. "Welcome home."

The baby extended a pudgy hand towards him, small fingers seizing him by the hakama.

"Puuh," he said simply in reply, taking a moment as if to get comfortable in Obito's arms before closing his eyes with a contented sigh.

The Hokage laughed, patting the younger man on the shoulder.

"He seems to like you, Obito-kun," he explained, allowing his fingers to caress the soft wisps of hair on Naruto-chan's head. "He hasn't let anyone other than me and a selected ANBU guard hold him, much less sleep in someone's arms."

Obito nodded, mute with awe.

It almost felt like Naruto-chan understood him, wanted to be _with_ him.

He wanted to honor the baby's trust.

He cleared his throat, though, fully aware he was an adult man almost drooling over a sleeping baby.

"I…" he hesitated. "I wanted to thank you for the crib, Hokage-sama. I really appreciate your help."

The old man blinked at him for a moment, confused.

"Crib?" he asked.

Obito nodded.

"Yes, the one I found assembled on my new spare bedroom?" he explained, blinking. Mikoto-san had offered to lend him her child's old crib for Naruto-chan, since Sasuke no longer needed it, but he had refused, already feeling on the Head family's debt, especially considering the murderous frown Itachi-chan had thrown his way at the mere idea of someone taking his baby brother's crib from him.

And, he had been even gladder to refuse Mikoto-san's gift when a brand new wooden crib had appeared on what he had planned to make Naruto-chan's room the following morning. A beautiful piece of furniture that could be later turned into a child-sized bed with just a few adjustments.

He had honestly thought the Hokage had a hand on that.

Apparently he was mistaken.

"You didn't send me Naruto-chan's new crib, did you, Hokage-sama?" Obito said, his eye widening in horror. "Or the toys and blankets…"

The old man stared at him.

"I did buy some baby blankets, yes," he admitted. "And I asked an ANBU to retrieve all the belongings Minato-kun and Kushina-chan had already prepared for their baby, of course, but there was no crib among them since Minato wanted to keep the baby with him at all times."

It _did_ sound like something his sensei would have done, it seemed.

Then…

Silence enveloped the room, broken only by Naruto-chan's soft breathing against Obito's chest.

He was not stupid and he _had_ noticed the looming shadow following his every movement, the solemn eyes nailed to his back as he walked the streets of the city.

He had done his best to ignore them, of course, but the presence had been there nonetheless.

Kakashi.

The man who had been his rival, his best friend, the one he had trusted with his own eye, with the girl he loved.

He shook his head.

And it wasn't that he blamed Kakashi for what had happened between them – not anymore anyways – but whatever Kakashi had seen in him all those years ago was gone, broken by what Madara and his experiments had done to him, had been twisted and warped into the shell of a man he was now.

What could he possibly say to him now?

Sorry I killed sensei and his wife?

Sorry I destroyed half the village and made a whole generation of orphans just like us?

Sorry Rin will be embarrassed to meet me when I die?

Sorry Naruto-chan won't be able to live a normal, happy life because I didn't die when I should have?

No, Kakashi was better off without him, without the burden of a past full of blood and destruction he could barely remember.

He had already decided it when he told the Hokage he wanted to stay in the village.

He only hoped Kakashi took the hint already and left him and Naruto-chan alone.

He shook his head.

"Please take it away, Hokage-sama," he said softly, his throat constricted, his eye watering. "I don't think I can accept it."

"B-but, Obito-kun…" the old man tried to reason with him.

"Take it before I burn it," he snapped, interrupting whatever Sarutobi had been about to say. "I… I can't…"

The Hokage crossed his arms over his chest.

"And where will Naruto-chan sleep, then?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

Obito huffed, shaking his head.

"I'm sure he can use my bed while I save enough for a crib of his own…" he muttered, trying to still his trembling limbs when Naruto-chan's hand on his hakama tightened and his eyes opened lightly in protest.

"Obito-kun, you don't have to punish yourself more than…"

"I'm sure the whole village would disagree with you, if you had told them the truth…" Obito hissed, burying his nose on Naruto-chan's soft hair, refusing to raise his head.

The old man fell silent.

And had he honestly thought Obito wouldn't know? That Obito wouldn't find out the Hokage had faked the reports? Making him a prisoner of the enemy that had escaped to warn the village but had been too late to stop the Kyuubi? That he wouldn't know the Hokage didn't want the information to spread over the village if only to avoid more divide between the citizens.

No, Obito knew it, and he felt the weight of those lies on his shoulders everytime someone looked at him with pity in their eyes, every time an Uchiha hissed a 'weak' as they passed him back, every time an ANBU shadowed him on his daily errands.

Yes, he knew and he hated it.

"I'm no hero, Hokage-sama…" he spat, shaking his head. "And I don't think I should be treated as such…"

Sarutobi nodded, his aged face twisting with accumulated pain.

"This is more for the village than for your protection," he said, firm. "Also, for Naruto-chan's sake."

Obito raised his face, confused.

The old man shook his head this time, his breathing soft.

"Despite my best efforts the village knows who the new Jinchuriki is," he said. "They are not pleased the Kyuubi no Kitsune was not destroyed as they feel he should have been."

"But Naruto-chan is a baby!" Obito protested, feeling dread coil and turn inside his stomach like a snake. "He's keeping them all safe!"

"And they will be less likely to express their frustrations if Naruto-chan lives with a hero," the Hokage continued, undaunted. "More so if that hero is under the protection of the Uchiha clan."

Obito bit his lip until it bled, the conflict reflected clear in his eye.

Naruto-chan cooed at him, his eyes wide on the blood now rolling down his chin.

Obito did his best to smile at the baby, nuzzling his cheek with his nose.

"If it is for Naruto-chan's safety…" he whispered, throat tight.

"It is…" the hokage assured.

Obito nodded.

Sarutobi nodded back, his shoulders relaxing.

"I will have my ANBU bring the rest of Naruto-chan's things tomorrow and… take that crib away then," he promised as he prepared to leave.

"Thanks," Obito said, turning back and forth to lull Naruto-chan back to sleep. "Oh, and Hokage-sama?"

The old man stopped by the door, his hat half-way on his head.

Obito swallowed.

"Please don't send ANBU Inu here," he said. "I'm not that stupid."

Something incredibly sad seemed to shine in the old man's eyes, but he nodded, whispering a last good bye as he left the house.

Obito took a deep breath, whispering to himself over and over again, that he was making the right choice.

"No use dragging Bakashi into my own messes, huh, Naruto-chan?" he asked with a small smile.

"Bluuub," Naruto agreed, putting a fist in his mouth.

"I knew you'd agree with me," the man laughed softly. "Now let me show you the house, okay?"


End file.
